CBS News: Face The Nation- Richard Nixon October 27, 1968

Source:CBS News- 1968 Republican Party presidential nominee Richard M. Nixon, on CBS News Face The Nation.

"Weeks before the 1968 presidential election, Richard Nixon disputes the idea that his "law and order" policies make him like controversial Alabama Gov. George Wallace on the October 27, 1968 edition of Face the Nation."

From CBS News

Politically and ideologically Richard Nixon would be called what we call a Northeastern Republican today at least on social issues and even as it related to the safety net. He wasn't against the safety net, but didn't want it running people's lives for them and believe mentally and able body people who could work should be required to work. Even though he was from California and lived there, or at least had a home there his whole life he was ideologically very similar to a New York or New England Republican on those issues.

People like to call Dick Nixon a Centrist or perhaps even a Centrist or even a Liberal today. But the fact was he wasn't crazy about big government in our economic or personal lives. (Unless he felt it benefited him politically, IE Watergate and other snooping operations) He was a Progressive-Republican (which is not an Oxymoron) when it came to economic issues and the safety net at least. 

Richard Nixon believed in a strong national defense and was a Conservative Internationalist on foreign policy. Law and order, I mean he had serious traditional Conservative, in a Progressive Republican leanings, but wasn't as far to the Right as the Tea Party or even Ronald Reagan.